NONE
Research and development of this invention and Application have not been federally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.
NOT APPLICABLE
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the marine powerboat industry, in general, and to sport fishermen, cruisers and sport powerboats, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
As is well known and understood, pleasure and sports craft of this type are designed with a back well with integral seating, and of a size to typically accept the added placement of casual chairs to accommodate the various passengers aboard. Because the back of the boat moves much less under the action of waves than does the front, the singular placement of such additional seating presents little discomfiture to the occupant and exhibits only a tolerable sway as the boat moves forward, and from side-to-side.
Many occasions arise, however, where a passenger in the back well ventures (or would like to venture) to the front of the boat. There, because the front does not support the weight of the engine, the boat moves substantially more from side-to-side, and up-and-down due to wave actionxe2x80x94oftentimes, sufficient to cause the person to lose his/her balance, or even to fall. Chairs, usually being long-legged, are top heavy so sitting on them in front does not stabilize the situation; and, if employed, frequently leads to both the chair and its occupant being flung about. Still, many occasions arise where being at the front of the boat is desirable, especially without there being any need for having to hold on for dear life.
Motor and luxury yachts have, of recent times, tended to deal with this problem by molding the fiberglass hulls to integrally receive specially configured lounge chairs for one to just sit upon, or to lay on while soaking in the sun. Located so as not to be weight bearing on the glass windows for the cabin below, these built-in manufactures will be understood as not really being an available solution for smaller boats or for non-luxury boats where the designers have opted to build a chair into the fiberglass hull.
As will become clear from the following description, the present invention describes a powerboat chair for use on these small and non-luxury crafts which can be collapsed and folded for storage when not being used, and which can be opened for placement in an exceedingly secure manner at the front of the vessel. Appreciating that the fish that secure themselves to the body of a shark swimming through the waters are known as xe2x80x9cRemoraxe2x80x9d, the chair of the present invention will henceforth be referred to as a xe2x80x9cRemora powerboat chairxe2x80x9d.
As will become clear from the following description, the xe2x80x9cRemora powerboat chairxe2x80x9d includes a collapsible chair having pairs of front and rear legs respectively supporting a seat to be sat upon when opened. A first stabilizer bar is positioned forwardly of the front legs and under the seat for support when the chair is opened, with the first stabilizer bar being secured inwardly of the front legs; and with the opposite ends of the first stabilizer bar resting on the same level surface as does the pair of front legs. A second stabilizer bar is additionally positioned forwardly of the rear legs and under the seat for support when the chair is openedxe2x80x94with the second stabilizer bar being secured inwardly of the rear legs, and with its opposite ends likewise resting on the same level surface as does the pair of rear legs. As will be seen, a substantially U-shaped bar extends rearwardly from a first location on one of the front legs, running outwardly along one end of the second stabilizer bar, both of the rear legs, and the other end of the second stabilizer bar to a second location on the other front leg. A manually operated suction cup couples with the substantially U-shaped bar for then releasably securing the collapsible chair to a flat surface by vacuum action. With the front and rear legs being of a tubular aluminum construction and with the seat being of a fabric composition, the powerboat chair of the invention will thus be seen as one where this typical casual chair construction is supplemented by forwardly positioned stabilizer bars for support, and with the front legs being joined together by a rearwardly extending U-shaped bar secured with a suction hand cup, all essentially fastening the chair to the deck by releasable vacuum action.
With the clearance of the substantially U-shaped bar from the ends of the second stabilizer bar and from the rear chair legs, the substantially U-shaped bar, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, can thus be angled or rotated upwardlyxe2x80x94to allow for vacuum securement by the suction cup at any location at the front of the powerboat, even to the windshield of a small cruiser or sport fisher. In such embodiment, the manually operated suction hand cup includes a pair of oppositely positioned round suction cupsxe2x80x94although in other constructions, one, three, or four suction cups could be utilized instead depending upon the degree of vacuum securement desired. Because powerboats, regardless of their size are fabricated of white fiberglass, with the present invention, the suction cups employed in the vacuum action are preferably selected of white rubber construction so as not to mar any surface. In similar manner, the bottoms of the chair legs and stabilizer bars are cushioned as well, preferably of a white rubber construction also. Manually operated suction hand cups of these manners are commercially available, where operation involves either lever squeezing or flipping, or pump action, to securely clamp their rubber pads to the surface by vacuum. Whether the chair is to be secured to the front of the boat or to the driver""s windshield (or even in the back well), a high degree of steadiness results, allowing the occupant of the chair to sit securely, even as the boat bounces about under action of the oncoming waves.